"Since the Catholic sexual abuse crisis erupted a decade ago, there have been numerous attempts to explain its causes, from a lack of fidelity to an over-emphasis on celibacy and clerical privilege. This morning in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI pointed to a deeper unseen force lurking behind the crisis, especially its timing: the Devil.

It's no accident, the pope implied, that precisely as the Catholic church was celebrating a "Year for Priests" in 2009-2010, the sexual abuse crisis once again took on massive global proportions.

"It was to be expected that this new radiance of the priesthood would not be pleasing to the 'enemy,'" Benedict XVI said. "He would have rather preferred to see it disappear, so that God would ultimately be driven out of the world."

The term "the enemy" is a traditional Catholic way of referring to the Devil.

The line drew applause from the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square for a Mass bringing the "Year for Priests" to a close. The Vatican said that some 15,000 priests from more than 90 countries were on hand for the event.

Benedict said that the sexual abuse of minors amounts to a direct contradiction of the meaning of the Catholic priesthood.

"So it happened in this very year of joy for the sacrament of the priesthood, the sins of priests came to light – particularly the abuse of the little ones, in which the priesthood, whose task is to manifest God's concern for our good, turns into its very opposite," the pope said."